About Us

About Us

The NIU Center for Economic Education was established in 1970 to provide economic education professional development programs for K-12 teachers in the NIU service area. The Center offers teachers, school districts, and community organizations the curriculum resources and training to teach the fundamental concepts and skills students need to understand and succeed in our market economy.

We are part of Econ Illinois and the Council for Economic Education, a network of educators recognized across the country as the premier provider of economic education professional development programs for teachers, curriculum consulting, curriculum materials, and student economic education programs. Our programs integrate the teaching of economics (including consumer economics) throughout the curriculum. We also offer training in economics courses and in providing economics and financial literacy programs to help schools develop a comprehensive curriculum for economics.

Located in NIU's P-20 Center, we serve the 11 counties in the northern Illinois region from McHenry, Kane, and DuPage County School Districts 203 and 204 on the east and west to the Mississippi River and south to I-80.

NIU Center for Economic Education Region

(DuPage County—Naperville School Districts 203 and 204 only)

Who We Are

Tammy Batson, Director

Tammy Batson is the Director of the Northern Illinois University Center for Economic Education. She is the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Department of Economics at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. She focuses on innovative teaching techniques for her courses on contemporary economics, macroeconomics, and government and business. All of her classes emphasize current events and discussion of numerous contemporary videos. Dr. Batson recently completed her doctorate exploring school choice policies and quantifying neighborhood school qualities.

Judith Dymond, Coordinator

Dr. Dymond brings to the Center for Economic Education extensive experience and background as a K-12 administrator, teacher, and reading specialist, including several years as Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Her doctorate is in educational leadership from National Louis University.

Advisory Committee

A multi-disciplinary Advisory Committee brings a wealth of approaches to the Center’s mission and programs.

Tammy Batson, Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences